Chapter 39

The goblins on the first floor, as I’d previously discovered, were easy to kill. There was no doubt about that. I saw one die instantly with an arrow in its chest. Another died as a fireball crashed against it. Unfortunately, once they realized they were under attack, they became increasingly more difficult to hit.

The creatures dashed around the massive mud pit, sliding at random times, rolling, diving, tripping, whatever they needed to do, in order to avoid the incoming attacks. Nyle missed three fireballs trying to hit the buggers. And even Lyn, who’d been deadly accurate with her bow, was having a hard time hitting the slippery bastards.

As comical as it was to watch my companions try to kill the scampering creatures, I didn’t get to enjoy the show long. I’d been casually moving closer to their muddy camp, weapons drawn, watching for any stragglers to attack. And with my close proximity, a few of the creatures took notice of me.

“Pasty one.” one cried out, pausing to point a long finger my way. Its moment of stillness cost the creature its life, as an arrow sprouted from its neck. The others though, reacted, avoiding another fireball, and resuming their frantic running around to keep from being skewered by arrows.

“You’ll be joining me soon.” I called back to Nyle while I watched the goblins. Four of them had rushed toward the pink creatures and leapt atop them. They had clubs in their hands, and were now riding the creatures towards me. One of the goblins, the one seeming to lead the little charge, was wearing a bucket on his head and holding a wagon wheel as a shield. Which, despite the fact they were coming to attack me, made me laugh.

“If you kill them fast enough, I won’t have to.” Nyle yelled. “Lyn’s killed four so far. I got one. That leaves seven to go.”

“Oh, you want me to do all the dirty work?” I put my scimitar away and summoned a ball of flames. The fire roared in my hand, the familiar tingle of magic running through me as I felt the weight of the spell in my hand. I took aim and threw. With the goblin riders charging towards me, they made an easy target. My spell flew through the air, and I grinned. It was heading right towards the bucket wearing goblin.

“Shield.” The goblin yelled, and it threw its wagon wheel at the fireball. I watched in disbelief as its… shield, flew through the air, connecting with the fireball and causing the spell to erupt midair. So surprised was I by the action, I barely drew my scimitar in time to engage with the approaching enemies. Luckily, Lyn wasn’t as easily surprised. A loud squeal filled the air as one of the pink creatures of a rider fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of its head. The goblin atop it was sent flying through the air, hurtling high over me. I ignored it, knowing Nyle would take care of the creature.

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The stench of the goblins and their mounts assaulted me as they rushed me. They didn’t try to encircle me like the wolves had. They rode right at me. The leader lowered his bucket covered head, his pinky mount charging right for me, and lifted his club. The other two followed his suit, though they lacked his bucket, and flanked him on either side. It was ridiculous. It was stupid, and reckless. And yet, I realized, I was oddly effective.

“Shit,” I leapt to the side, jumping as far as I could. The three charging creatures, abreast, took up a good seven feet of space. The pink mounts were fat and chunky, obviously heavy, and with dangerous hooved feet. The goblins, comical as they were, had clubs that gave them another foot or so of reach from their mounts. Even as I dove, I felt one of the clubs crack against my side. The force was enough to send my into an awkward roll out of my dive, and I slid on the dirty grass. It thankfully wasn’t a complete mud field, but there was no doubt this grass had been churned. My momentum, and the force of the blow, sent me sliding a good extra four or five feet, before I was able to stop my momentum and stand back up.

“That looked like it hurt.” Nyle called out. He’d just dispatched the goblin that had been sent flying towards him. “Six lef-“

His comment was cut off as the charging goblins that I’d just dealt with, bore down on him. They didn’t seem intent on coming back for me. They were charging through our line. A nonstop train of pink and green flesh, clubs, and a bucket.

I laughed as Nyle was clipped by one of the clubs and sent flying in a manner similar to what had just happened to me. I’d checked my HP, and knew the club blow took 10 HP from my health. It hurt, it was embarrassing, but it wasn’t something that was going to kill us any time soon. Which made watching Nyle get hit even more amusing.

“That looked like it hurt,” I mimicked to him as he stood, his Climber’s Regalia covered in mud now. The twang of a bow drew my attention back to Lyn. She’d managed to shoot one of the goblins, the close-range arrow blasting the creature off its mount. The moment the goblin fell off of it, the creature let out shrill ‘oink’ and reared off, heading back towards the camp. The other two, undeterred, continued their charge.

“How many is that now?” I asked Nyle as we watched Lyn. With one less goblin in their formation, she was able to deftly dodge the two charging at her. Only then, with no further targets, did the leader lift his bucket covered head up, and turn the creature he was riding. The fat creature didn’t turn well, and he and his lone companion half skid, half slid as they tried to maneuver back around.

“Seven,” Lyn answered. “I’ve got five now, and one of their mounts. Nyle’s at two, and you’re still at zero Ash.” She aimed her bow and shot the mount of the bucket wearing goblin. The fat creatures were a much easier target to hit than the thin goblins. The creature squealed and collapsed, sending its rider screaming into the air.

“Guess I should get to work then,” I said, and I turned back to the goblin camp. A few more goblins had been trying to sneak towards us, but unlike the group that had accompanied the bucket wearing goblin, they weren’t riding on any creatures. I rushed towards them, no longer caring about getting dirty, and not worried about getting killed. I had four heals left, and those clubs only hit for ten HP. I could kill plenty of these guys, without much worry. And by the Tower, I wasn’t about to let Nyle kill more than me. With the mood he was in today, I’d never hear the end of it.